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Former Editor of The Stage helps Razzamataz celebrate 15 successful years of business

03.03.2015

On Monday 16th February 2015, Razzamataz was delighted to welcome special guest judge and presenter Brian Attwood, former Editor of The Stage newspaper to the annual Conference in Birmingham. The Stage is often referred to as the performing arts industry ‘bible’ and Brian edited the publication for 20 years.

Hosted by Founder and Managing Director Denise Hutton-Gosney, Franchise Recruitment Manager Suzie McCafferty and Support Manager Sarah Nixon, the Conference welcomed guest speakers in the fields of social media, press and PR, websites and business development.

The Conference highlighted just how far the Dragons’ Den backed business has progressed in the last 15 years. With more and more franchisees joining up every year, the part-time theatre school franchise has become a powerful force in the children’s performing arts market.

During the evening, Razzamataz welcomed Brian to present two of the Awards, which he judged. These were: Best Showcase awarded to Hayley Limpkin, Principal of Razzamataz Medway and Maidstone and Most Outstanding School awarded to Helen Green, Principal of Razzamataz Sheffield.

During Brian’s presentation, he told guests about his 20 years of writing about the performing arts and how he is especially proud to have spearheaded the Scholarship Awards in which Razzamataz has contributed more bursaries than anyone else.

“Razzamataz has grown into a company with a great network of franchises across the UK,” says Brian. “In the short period of its existence, Razzamataz has travelled a considerable way. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the growth in stage schools has occurred at a time when the education system has less and less time for subjects that aren’t on the main curriculum.

“The problem is that qualifications on their own don’t provide the answer to everything: they don’t teach you to work with people, to think creatively in response to situations, to channel your emotional energies and to have fun.

“Perhaps not every parent and every child and even every employee of Razzamataz can sum up in a few words what it’s about but I suspect a very large number have a good feel for what it’s about.

“It’s about developing a love of the performing arts, a level of self-belief and regard for others and putting children on the road to becoming confident adults.”

This year, Razzamataz is marking 15 years’ of business and to celebrate this significant milestone, is offering a special promotion for new franchisees. For the whole of 2015, there will be a £2,015 reduction, a saving from the original fee of £9,995 plus VAT.

If you want to make 2015 the year you launch your own business with lots of support, make an appointment to come along to one of our regular but informal Discovery Den days in London, Carlisle, Glasgow or Sheffield to find out more about this exciting and flexible business opportunity. To book a place contact [email protected] or [email protected] to find out exact dates and locations and reserve your time slot. Alternatively call Suzie on 07793 054 233 or 0131 664 1218 or visit www.razzamataztheatreschools.co.uk for more info and to view the new website.

Razzamataz Theatre Schools offer exceptional part-time training in dance, drama and singing together with exciting guest workshops from industry professionals. Classes are for children from age 2 to 18 and allow students to experience a range of performance styles from classic West End musical theatre to funky street dance and pop singing.

Razzamataz Conference Award winners 2015

Franchisee of the Year
Helen Green, Sheffield
“The winner of this award has achieved an amazing 96% growth in the last year. With a hungry attitude for business and passion for wanting only the best for her students, what this person has achieved for themselves and their students in just two years is astounding. The winner of this award has multiple classes, runs regular after school workshops, specialist workshops, parties, Tots, and is now looking to expand further within their territory. This franchisee is a true, shining example of just what the potential of this business could offer every single one of us with their steely determination, self development, professionalism, integrity and following and developing the Razzamataz system to the letter.”

Best New Franchisee
Lyndsey Loughery and Louise McHendrie, Glasgow South
“This franchisee followed our handover planners to the letter, executed an excellent re-launch, engaging in effective social media activity, and took each initiative given to them by head office and ran with it, an example of such is their very successful ‘Razz Factor’, launching multiple classes within their first term and growing revenue by 65%.”

Brand Ambassador
Michael French, Barnet
“From ensuring classes are delivered to the highest standard, to the relationships that are built with students and parents, offering endless opportunities to students and assisting head office. This franchisee is a shining example of a brand ambassador representing our brand to its best at all times, from the immaculate presentation of staff and students alike, always willing, pro-active and supportive of head office initiatives such as a hugely successful Universal and Barbie media launch which was held at their school.”

Rebecca Rennie Award
Debbie Mitchell, Carlisle
“This person lives and breathes Razzamataz and her huge input and passion for our very successful First Choice contract ensures it is renewed year on year, hitting targets and beyond every year, only recruiting the absolute finest teachers to represent our brand, dedication to attention to detail, best practice, training and support, always with the best interest of the business but also for the ‘people’ at all times, mentoring and supporting her staff.”

Business Builder Award 1
Angela Pickup, York
“This person has achieved huge growth in year 1 and has maintained steady growth term on term, every term, since then. The winner of this award is extremely pro-active with social media, takes an active involvement in the local community and is working hard to create a legacy for herself, students and Razz within her territory.“

Business Builder Award 2
Lauren Whitehead, Weymouth
“She excelled in delivering a Behaviour Management policy for students to the network to use and is highly committed to both her school and her students. She is an advocate of using the Razz tools and techniques and using them to effectively grow her school to capacity.”

Best Marketing Campaign
James Murden and Ross Brown, Bristol
“This franchisee has maintained excellent growth in their territory and made a fantastic start to further expanding their territory. The winner of this award is always looking for innovative approaches to training their students and is the first to run a successful ‘Red Carpet Cinema Event’. Their experience and knowledge within the education and entertainment business is substantial and their students and staff are very lucky to have them as mentors and Principals.”

One to Watch
Alison Beveridge, Durham
“With the support of a family member, this franchisee has achieved an excellent 50% capacity in their first term. They have launched their business very successfully, following our launch planners to the letter, communication with head office on a regular basis and have an excellent social media campaign. “

Outstanding Contribution
Dylan Harper, Ayr
“This person made a fabulous contribution to the development of our new website. Without his steely determination, hard work and infectious enthusiasm we would not have achieved our target of launching the site on 16th January.”

Making Dreams Come True
Shelley Fitzgibbon, Wokingham and Woodley
“This person is extremely passionate about making young people’s dreams come true, and they support not just the young person, but the parents and siblings who ‎can sometimes be just as nervous, if not more nervous than the young auditionee. The winner of this award has helped their students to gain private auditions for many of their young prodigies leading to success in Les Miserable, Matilda and Oliver in London West End.”

Best Showcase
Hayley Limpkin, Medway and Maidstone
Judge: Brian Attwood
“In their written submission I saw the clearest demonstration of how they had brought concept into practice. It was the clearest outline of a production strategy, illustrating how they executed the project, involved students and community and managed everything from the show to the marketing and combined passion with analysis.”

Most Outstanding School
Helen Green, Sheffield
Judge: Brian Attwood
“One school stood out for the way in which it demonstrated it had mastered all the elements –be it lesson planning, staff development, teaching, growing its role in the community and thoroughly understanding the value of media and especially social media.”